My last diary of "Speaking The Truth"

I would like to thank the main guy for making this diary function:  Andre Whitehead.  When I first heard about the tnprephoops, I went on the site and I saw my name.  I was shocked!  I asked everybody who was watching me.  My teammates told me--Andre Whitehead.  I was like, "I like this guy already and I haven't even met him.  So then we I did meet him, I was like, "Andre is a down to earth guy."  Ever since then, he has still been doing his thing.  I really appreciate him for helping not only me out, but the rest of the basketball players in the state. I was thinking how amazing it was to have rankings for all the different classes.  Andre has seen a lot great talent come through Tennessee.  I can say that he is the best at writing articles and summarizing events that he attended.  I was thinking that the NBA needs to put Mr. Whitehead on TV before and after games to analyze games.  I KNOW THAT YOU ALL AGREE WITH ME!!  Andre, I'm going to miss this great opportunity.  I wish you the best in the futue.

Well the Golden Circle West TN All-Star Game....it was boring.  Oh my gosh!  At the beginning of the game, it took f-o-r-e-v-e-r for a team to score only one basket.  I was getting frustrated on the bench..."Coach put me in the game!!!"  I got in and I didn't do anything either.  It was a disappointing first half but it was all good. 

The second half was better...oh so much better.  The match up everyone been waiting to see--Justin Blake vs Ricky Taylor...Ricky Taylor vs Justin Blake!  I got the ball in the post and made a quick move to the basket...ok simple move.  I got 2 points.  So my boy, Mr. Blake, got the ball.  It looked like he was saying, "It's my turn now Mr. Taylor.  Ha ha.  So I was putting my best defense on him...Im talkin bout like locking a serial killer up in jail...im just talkin yall...so he tried to go by me and I cut him off.  He tried again and I cut him off again...good job Ricky!!! So I guess Justin got tired and pulled out a trick under his sleeve or something...he....to be continued....

Ok we back...ha...so he pulled out a 2 piece combo on me.  He crossed over to the right and crossed back to the left...when he crossed over the first time...me being the dummy...i went for it.  He froze me!  He "Allen Iverson crossed me."  Everybody said oooohh...I was like No!!!  Then Mr. Blake finished it off with a slow motion finger roll and the crowd went crazy.....I was like, "Well, at least the crowd is into now."  Justin and I became like best friends after we played each other in the Regional Championship.  I talk about him all the time because he is like a brother to me....yeah you can shed a tear.....yeah you can laugh now.

My team ended up winning..congrats to MVP Jeremy Fason.  He hustled and worked real hard.  On my team, my MVP would have been Jeremy Rhodes from Bolivar. He worked.  I mean he worked real hard.  I know he had a double double.  He played physical and blocked shots.  He even shot a 3...big man got a soft touch...as you can see my analization is coming out...I've been reading too much of Andre Whitehead's great work...Andre makes me want to get my own website one day..you never know.

On the opposing team, I would have given the MVP to Victor McLin..that athletic man played real good--scoring, rebounding, and of course dunking.  The game wasn't too bad, but it was good to meet new teammates whom I have never met.

This is it people...the end of The Truth...I am leaving out for college, UT Chatt, on June 4 for summer classes and I CANNOT WAIT to get up there.  I am going to be in the weight room as well.  I hope that I shared some information that was beneficial to you all.   I know that I have written some crazy stuff from time to time..but hey...thats me.  By the way, I gave my first sermon not too long ago and that went really well.  I will be bringing the message again the 5th Sunday in June which is June 29.

I thought I was through in the last paragraph but finally...this is it! So keep me in your prayers.  I will need every single one of them. Be blessed..ok people...the last words of "Speaking The Truth....I am "The Truth"

It is time to "Speak The Truth!"

Yes, I'm finally out of school for good.  I am officially through with high school.  Counting kindergarten, I have had a long 13 years of being in the school system.  My graduation went real well though.  As 1st Vice President of my Senior Class, I had to give the welcoming to all the guests.  I wasn't nervous of all the people because I'm used to playing in front of large crowds anyway. 

I graduated with honors as well as being a Distinguished and Tennessee Scholar.  I finished 16th in my class.  It was some tough competition to get in the top 10.  I received a couple of local schlarships from the community, so I believe that is going to help my college life go along smoothly.

After I received my diploma, I felt loved from family to friends.  I took a lot of pictures, and I finally started smiling for a change.  I usually don't smile when I take pictures as you can see on the homepage...ha.  I was happy though, because I made it.  Family gave me gifts, and I was very thankful.  My first cousin probably gave me one of the best gifts.  She gave me a scrapbook.  Yes, a scrapbook.  She told me that she had been keeping up with all the articles that I was in.  She surprised me.  She had just about every article since I was playing basketball.

I went to the Huddle House to eat after graduation, but a friend and I left the Huddle House because it was packed.  If you didn't know how small Brownsville, TN was, I had to eat a graduation dinner at the most famous restaurant in the world-- McDonalds!!! It still tasted good because I was starving....I am "The Truth"

Its been a long time since The Truth has went forth...so lets roll.

My prom was a highlight of my life!  I took the former Miss HHS of 2007 last year, and she was beautiful.  We wore a"tweety-bird" yellow for our color.  I've been expecting this prom for a long time since I've never been to one before.  Everybody was coming up to us talking about how good we looked together.  Let's get this straight.  She was the celebrity so she made me look good.  People coming from left and right taking pictures.  My date made me feel like a celebrity.  It was all good too. 

With all of that success going on, I really thought it was going to be a natural weather disaster.  Haywood was under a tornado and thunderstorm watch.  So the storm started coming right before prom started.  I had to go pick my date up all the way in the country-well almost in another county.  She stayed out of the way, and you know how high gas is now a days....but like I said, she was beatuful, and she was definitely worth the drive.

I met her family, and her mom was real crazy.  She was cool though.  Her mom took the storm SO seriously!  She was actually prepared to go into the ditch outside if the tornado was in the area.  I smiled because I wasn't about to go outside in my tuxedo and get all muddy.  The storm was getting worse so my date's mother told her that she wasn't going to the prom because of the weather.  I made an ugly face like...this woman must be crazy.  So, my date literally went back and took her prom dress off.  I was like NO!!!!!!!

We were watching the news, and we were in the "red" part.  I wasn't scared at all cause I knew that God would let the storm pass over.  It became calm, and it started to sprinkle a little bit.  I was like...YES!!! Never speak too fast because my date was just sitting there.  In my mind I was saying, "Aren't you going to go put your dress back on?"  So my date started talking about how hungry she was.  She went into the kitchen and just started messing around.  At this point, I'm mad.  We were already late.

Fortunately, my date came to her senses, and she went to put back on her dress.  Thinking she was progressing, her mom interrupted and told her to hold on.  Hold on?  I was like...HURRY UP?  My date had to go to the front door and look outside the door to see the sky for herself.  She realized that she would go ahead and go despite the weather condtions.  Now I'm thinking, "ABOUT TIME!" 

The prom was held in Haywood High's gymnasium.  The theme was:  "Las Vegas."  We made it to the school safely.  I was happy, my date was happy, and I guess the "crazy mom" was happy.  I hope my date's mom doesn't read this.  ha..ha...I am "The Truth"

It's time to speak "The Truth" one more time.

Well I had a great weekend with the All-Star team in Nashville.  I finally got to see the life of my opponents.  Everybody was cool.  I was roommates with Charles Holt from Liberty.  Jeremy Rhodes from Bolivar and guess who....Justin Blake from Dyer County were in our room most of the time.  Josh Henley from Hunters Lane was funny, but Elgin Lee from Briarcrest was the man!  He was the funniest person on the team.  He even made the coaches laugh a couple of times....well probably a lot of times.  My teammates and I were just talking about basketball.  We went in depth on that subject.  Those guys had me tripping out!

The people over the whole All-Star weekend did an outstanding job. They took care of us.  The food was delicious, the hotel was nice, and the gear was off the chain.  The first day everybody was kind of mad because we didn't get our shoes.  We were incomplete without the kicks.  It was so funny to see the faces of my teammates when we didn't get the shoes.  Turning the tables around, when we did get them...oh my gosh!!!  Faces lit up!  Teeth started showing!  What made me laugh was that everybody put them on immediately!  It was a trip though.

The practices went nice.  I enjoyed listening to Coach Sisco and Coach "Fro."  It was definitely an honor to play for the both of them.  We practiced hard.  We had some great plays that I might have to put down in my play book if I ever become a coach...ha.  Yes sir!

My teammates...what can I say?  I've been waitng to play with them for years.  I'm sorry to express myself like this, but it was an honor to play with them too.  This was my dream team.  Everybody had an I.Q. of the game.  Everybody knew their role.  I was feeling it yall.  I never have played with a team where everybody played their role.  That is a basketball dream for me.  I don't know about you other ballers, but that was "My Dream Team."

The game went real well.  We did like I said we were going to do.  I told the East team that we were going to shoot them out.  I was going to talk stuff, but thats not my game.  I was there to have a good time and enjoy the game of basketball. I was named MVP of the West squad with 23 points and could'nt have done it without my teammates.

I wouldn't mind having an All-Star Game every month or so....yup...I am "The Truth"

It is now a relief to get it off my chest.  One of my good friends Justin Blake probably gave me the best "April Fools."  He sent me a text message early in the morning and told me that he was going to Dyersburg State.  I mean, Dyers State is right there close to him so I thought maybe he wanted to stay close to home.  So within like 10-15 minutes, he texted back "April Fools."  I just wanted to drive down there to Dyer County and choke him....he is my favorite high school player though. 

UT Chatt is a reasonable distance-- 4 hours away from home is ok with my family and me.  It just made me feel good to hear the voices of the coaches when I told them the news.  The key thing that stood out to me was that Coach Shulman, the head coach, told me that he wanted me to first be apart of the "Moc" family.  That made me feel even better to know that I have a second family when I'm away from home.  I'm going to go in and work hard so I can hopefully get some playing time.

Just to let you know, Southern Illinois did have interest in me also.  I did narrow my choices down to Eastern Kentucky, SEMO, UT Chatt, and Southern Illinois.

Those of you who have had an impact on my recruitment, thank you so much.  Coach Patino, Coach Varnado, Coach Hawkins, Coach Waddy, Coach Henderson, Coach Parnell.... and the rest of the coaches that coached me some point in my life.  You know exactly who you are.

I have to give a significant shout out to the Nashville Celtic's coaches.  I love them.  Coach Waddy and Coach Henderson is something else.  I got on the Celtics about the last month of the AAU season.  I barely knew them.  We won games, and I felt like I should have been a Celtic not only for my AAU circuit, but for life.  They really worked hard in trying to get me into the best college possible.  Now, if I had to recommend "ANYBODY" for an AAU team....thats right.....The Nashville Celtics-- the Celtics of great players, great tradition, and great coaching.

You know I haven't forgot about the mane man of this site...yes...Mr. Andre Whitehead...I'm going to hook the best national recruiting analyst up in one of my final entries.

This is it for now....so keep your head up and continue to do good.

I am "The Truth"...be blessed

Its time to speak "The Truth"

Whats up everybody.  I'm excited about the All-Star game in Franklin, TN.  The West will have to come and bring it.  I already know.  We are going to be kind of quick on the floor.  I have several friends who are playing for the other team.  We've been talking stuff since the beginning of the year. 

I've been told things like we are going to get dunked on and everything.  We shall see...ha ha.  I've been saying that they are going to get dunked on and "shot" out.  It is going to be a fun, yet interesting game.  I'm very honored to have Coach Sisco from Union City as our head coach.  I know he will give us the best instructions. 

I've been waiting a long time to play with some of my West TN buddies ever since my freshmen year of school.  Now is the chance.  I am "The Truth"

What is up!  Time to "Speak The Truth." 

I would first like to congratulate all the state participants and the state champions.  The champions held it down for Tennessee and showcased their talents.  I would also like to congratulate the Mr. Basketball finalists and winners.  M.J. Brown, Terrico White, Jason Jones, and Justin Blake are good friends of mine.   I know they worked real hard in the summer and during the season to make it to the top. 

I did have a favorite to win the state though.  Since I'm from West TN, I wanted Dyer or Mitchell to bring it back home for AA.  Fulton did their thing.  Union City and Ridgeway brought that gold home though.  Everyone who played ball this year has my respect.  If you could go compete two or three times a week and practice everyday then you are good in my book.  This is my view from the state so check out my college status on my next entry.  I am "The Truth" 

I'm back for another addition of "Speaking The Truth."

As the end of the year approaches, it is about time to make an important decision in my life: college.  College is going to be the next level for a lot of seniors.  I am going to the University of...........I haven't quite made that up yet, but I'm getting closer and closer as the days pass by.  I'm looking to go somewhere where I can get the best education possible.  That is what going to college is all about--the education.  I understand that every baller's dream is to go to the NBA, play overseas, or play professionally somewhere.  Well, what if we don't.  My point:  the value of an education.  I haven't seen one individual who has ran the same speed or had the same strength as they did in their youth.  Your body will soon become of age, but that mind can continue to grow day by day.  

I plan to major in accounting or some sort of mathematical area.  I also want to become a coach one day and be like Coach K or Coach Tubby Smith....ha. 

I want a great college coach that will make me better.  Im talking about my weaknesses turning them into strengths.  My strengths turning them into the best.  

I also want to be part of a great basketball family.  Hopefully, if I graduate, I want to come back 5-10 years later and say, "There is no place like home." 

 I have received interest from another SEC school so the college thing is crazy right now.  It doesn't matter if it is a mid-major or a high major program.  It's about getting better and having a good basketball family.

In the meantime, I have several visits to take.  I'm prepared for those visits.  I sure am.  I have a little clipboard with about 25-30 questions on them.  They are simple,crazy, and hard questions.  Yes, I got to know all the details. 

While I'm waiting to get the college decision over, I am lifting weights and working on my ball handling.  The shooting part, I got to extend my range probably a couple of steps back.   Take care....

 I am "The Truth"

Even though my high school career has ended, I still have to "Speak The Truth."

We ended our season Tuesday night in Memphis, TN at Mitchell High School for sub state.  We were supposed to play them Monday, but their lights were not on when we entered the parking lot.  I thought the lights would turn on in a couple of minutes or so.  The police escorted us in.  Yup, I felt protected.  I had my tie on as usual and at the same time, I was meditating on the game.  We sat in a dark gym waiting to hear a response.  Some teammates were listening to music, talking, and some teammates were even quiet.  That's a first.

Then out of the blue my coach said, "Let's go."  We had to make it up the following day.  Before the game, the team had to go to a funeral.  One of our players father had passed away.  We showed all the love we could for our teammate.  We finally made it to Mitchell, and you know what?  The lights were on this time.

We lost the game 73-61.  I ended up with 21 points and 8 assists.  I can say that I had a descent career.  It wasn't too bad.  I wish every team in the state the best of luck.  I will be taking some official visits after the state tournament, and I plan to narrow my college choice down shortly. 

I am "The Truth"